Sunday, December 25, 2016

More Christmas Specials and Movies for English Language Learners and Foreign Students

Last time on this blog, I shared a few of the more common American Christmas specials. This time, I'll add a few more, as well as a couple of the best known Christmas films. These are all iconic Christmas specials well known in the USA and I introduced them in my advanced class a couple weeks ago.

# 5 -- A Charlie Brown Christmas

Charlie Brown is most certainly an American icon. Seems like this should be included.

# 6 -- A Christmas Story

Last month in this class, as discussed in a post a few weeks ago on movies, I showed the Thanksgiving film, "Pieces of April," spread over a few weeks. I seriously considering give this film, "A Christmas Story," the same treatment and only decided against it as I did not wish to repeat myself with the same kind of class, two months in a row. Undoubtedly a good film for foreign folks wishing to understand American culture. --or at least American culture of a few decades ago.

#7- It's a Wonderful Life

A true classic and a well known one. Surely it can't help for people wishing to understand our culture to check this one out, can it?

# 8 - A Miracle on 34th Street

The story of a "real" Santa Claus in New York City. Another classic worth checking out.

#9 -- Santa Claus Conquers the Martians

Okay, here I might be pushing it. I admit this strange and bizarre classic in "bad" movies has a special place in my heart. On the other hand, I did show it to my students in the advanced class, a group primarily composed of educated, middle class Asian housewives and they seemed to consider the brief exposure ten minutes well spent.

Sunday, December 18, 2016

An Introduction to Christmas Special for "New Americans," Foreign Students, and ESL Students --Part One

Once a week, I teach an advanced ESL class where most of the students are wives of highly educated foreign workers, often from the tech industry. They generally speak English well and much of the class is cultural enrichment.

What follows is a list of Christmas Specials that I introduced my students to this week.

I began by explaining that Christmas is a religious holiday celebrated only by those who are at least nominally Christian and introduced the concept of separation of church and state. Nevertheless, I said, Christmas is clearly and important time of year and the separation of Church and State is not 100% (for better or worse) as evidenced by such things as "In God we Trust" on the money.

So, with no further ado, a list of Christmas specials for ESL and Foreign Students.

#1 --Frosty the Snowman

Although technically not a Christmas special, per se, this does tend to get shown around Christmas time. Therefore I began the class with it, perhaps to alleviate fears that I was going to push my religious beliefs or offend Muslims.

Like many of these I began with the song on which the television special was based, and explained the vocabulary and concepts in it. Therefore I began with this song.

I then followed up with the trailer for the TV show (or as close to the trailer as I could find. I am not convinced, despite the label, that this is really the TV show trailer.)

#2 --Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer

Again, I began with the song, explaining lyrics and vocabulary and cultural references. As an aside, and a piece of self criticism, this was not a terribly interactive lesson and was a bit lecture heavy. Not perfect, but once in a while, I feel, it's okay to do such lessons.

This was followed by the trailer for the TV special. (This is not the one I used in class, but how can one not enjoy this? Especially if you are from Schenectady, home of GE, as I am. )

#3 - How the Grinch Stole Christmas

This one I did a little differently than the others, because while the others started with songs, this one started with a book, a book by Dr. Seuss, so I began there. The I showed the trailer for the TV show.

I explained that while I thought the word "grinch" had not been an English word, before this song they could now use it to describe an unhappy, grouchy person. I then followed this up with the song, explaining that a lot of the vocabulary is quite intense and obscure (I actually had to look up a couple words myself, "wasty" for instance, and told my students so. I do make it clear to my students that I do not understand every English word and they should not expect to be able to do so either. )

I showed this partly to explain the cultural significance of the song. I kind of feel they were more impressed than I was, but it was still fun to see the US Navy band perform this classic.

This might have worked too, but probably not as well.

And finally I introduced them to the Jim Carrey full length movie. I confess, I steered them away from it, but explained I hadn't seen it myself and perhaps I should before saying bad things about it. On the other hand, with the cartoon being such a classic, I feel this entire movie is unnecessary. Competely unnecessary.

Sunday, November 27, 2016

Thanksgiving, Holidays, and Chinese New Year and such

Because it is shortly after Thanksgiving, one of the biggest and most group-oriented holidays in American society, it seems appropriate to write about how many foreign and English as a second language students view the holiday. The interesting truth is that it’s often surprisingly unimportant to them.

Some who work with foreign students forget that Thanksgiving is a uniquely American holiday. (Okay, there actually is a Canadian Thanksiving held around Columbus day, but it lacks the same symbolism and significance.)

For instance, I once taught at a program at Tufts University that was intended to orient and prepare Chinese high school seniors for study at colleges and universities in the USA. Although I learned a lot in my time there, my feelings were that in many ways it was very much a program designed by and for American liberals without terribly much first hand understanding of Chinese culture and based in their preconceived notions of what the students should be taught rather than based on what the students actually needed. (Perhaps more on this another time.)

And one example of this was at a meeting early in the year, someone announced that we must find places for them to spend time on Thanksgiving. The fear, as I understood it, was that they would become very lonely on the holiday if they did not have a place to go. However, few newly arrived Chinese students consider Thanksgiving to be terribly important. It is not a holiday celebrated in their country, and they did not grow up with it. Instead they consider Chinese New Year (also known as Lunar New Year) to be the most important holiday of the year and both are celebrated with feasting and a gathering of families and communities. This is when Chinese, Taiwanese, and many other Asian students (including Vietnamese who celebrate Tet at this time of year) tend to get the most homesick and lonely.

By contrast, I remember my first Chinese New Year’s celebrated many years ago in Taipei, Taiwan, when I was in my early twenties and off to teach English as a Second or Foreign Language for the first time in Taiwan.

A group of us young foreign English teacher and student types gathered and enjoyed the way that the locals seemed to have abandoned their city and how it had become like a ghost town as people left to spend time with their families elsewhere. The restaurants were closed so we ate canned fish and crackers and chatted and had a great time. We were not lonely at all, although my guess is that most of the Taiwanese we knew would have thought we were.

Some of us, including me, later had the opportunity to spend time with Taiwanese families and that was an enjoyable experience too, but it was something more along the lines of a cross-cultural educational experience than it was an experience based on joining a shared community for an important holiday.

We were much more on a “so what’s this crazy thing about anyway?” frame of mind than we were on a “how will we spend this important holiday?” vibe.

And that’s how many of your foreign students view Thanksgiving. If invited, they are happy. They meet new people. They see new things. They experience the host culture and learn more about its people and traditions.

However, if not they are usually fine.

By contrast, however, if one wish to care and provide well for your foreign students, you should learn what their holidays are and how they spend them and seek to ensure that they do not struggle with serious depression and homesickness during those times of year.

Friday, November 18, 2016

Saudis and explaining same sex marriage

One of the challenges of teaching English as a Second Language is interacting with people from a wide variety of cultures. And of these cultures and students, some of the most challenging to deal with are often the Saudi Arabians.

Saudi Arabia is an oil rich nation dominated by conservative Islamic thought. (I mentioned Wahhabi-ism in a previous post.) It is a nation ruled by a king where the legal system is dominated by sharia law. It is the only nation in the world where women are prohibited from driving. ("Because we must protect them," explained a male Saudi to me casually one day.)

There are many Saudi Arabians coming to the USA to study these days. This is largely because the government of this nation is aware that some day their oil reserves and oil money will run out and that it is a good idea to diversify the country's economy by sending large numbers of students to the USA to study subjects that might prove useful in diversifying the economy. This is done through a Saudi government organization called SACM or the Saudi Arabian Cultural Mission. They approve schools, fund scholarships, and even, according to some reports, keep an eye on the students who come here to make sure they don't engage in activities that might be harmful to the Saudi government or royal family.

And when they come here, often they have questions about things they see or our culture. Sometimes these involve same sex marriage and homosexuality.

First, just to make it clear, many Saudi are under the impression that there is no homosexuality in their nation. Of course, this is absurd, and easily disproven. There are several articles (for instance
http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2007/05/the-kingdom-in-the-closet/305774/ ) and documentaries ( see: https://www.google.com/search?sourceid=chrome-psyapi2&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8&q=documentary%20on%20homosexuality%20in%20saudi%20arabia&oq=documenta&aqs=chrome.0.69i59j0j69i57j0l3.8462j0j8 ) and other reports of homosexuality in Saudi Arabia, https://www.google.com/search?newwindow=1&espv=2&q=+homosexuality+in+saudi+arabia&oq=+homosexuality+in+saudi+arabia&gs_l=serp.12..35i39k1j0i7i30k1l3j0j0i30k1l2j0i8i30k1l2.72388.72388.0.75433.1.1.0.0.0.0.161.161.0j1.1.0....0...1c.1.64.serp..0.1.155.v4V99BFGdTQ )

Of course, homosexuality occurs in all cultures and societies in some form so why do many Saudis believe this? First, don't expect to see too many openly gay Saudis because (as the above sources explain) the penalty for engaging in gay sex in Saudi Arabia is to be stoned to death. Clearly, this kind of put a damper on any talk they had over there of organizing a gay pride parade, to say the least.

Secondly, the society often practices arranged marriages. Therefore even if a man or woman is gay they are quite likely to find themselves married to someone of the opposite sex no matter what their wishes might be.

For instance, one day I was teaching an intermediate ESL class in Boston. The lesson focused on the difference between "I hope to" and "I plan to" when speaking of events in the future. One Saudi student turned in the sentence "I plan to get married in two years."

I looked at it and asked "Do you have a girlfriend who wants to marry you?"

He said that he did not, and I asked "Well then, how do you know you will get married in two years?"

"My mother will find me a wife," he answered.

"Well, then," I said. "This is a good English sentence."

Obviously arranged marriages conceal people's natural sexual orientations.

So, this brings us to the million dollar question, what do you do when you are teaching your English as a Second Language class and a Saudi raises his hand and asks "Is it true that two men here can get married?"

Your response may vary but here's mine.

First, try to sense out if he is really asking because he is confused and wishes to understand or if he is just looking for an excuse to argue, Some students, believe it or not, like to argue in class. If the student seems inclined to just make homophobic statements and argue that his culture is superior to American culture, I'd suggest that he and I save the conversation for after class and then cut it short if my suspicions proved correct.

If not you might wind up with an exchange similar to the following one I actually had:

Student: "But it is only disugsting and immoral men who do these things! If you can do this, what is to keep someone from marrying a dog?"

Me: "Hey, I've got a lot of gay friends and you don't even know them. Who are you to say they are disgusting?"

Even if you think there is some benefit to such shouting matches, and I doubt if there is, I hope you will agree that having them in front of an audience of ESL students benefits no one. If you must shout and call names, do it outside of the classroom.

Second, you could try the cultural relativism approach. I've tried it but in my experience, i
t doesn't work very well for reasons, I will illustrate below.

Student: Is it true that here two men can marry? In my country this would never be permitted.

Teacher: Well, yes, but different things are seen as ethical in different cultures. For instance, in your country it is considered okay to have more than one wife, but in our country it is not considered okay to do that. And in our country it is legal for two men or two women to get married, but in your country it is not. So you can see different cultures have different ways of doing things.

Student: Well, yes, but you must remember that what the Koran says is that a man can have three wives but he must treat them all equally, so that is why it is okay to have three wives.

Please understand that the student has now explained the teachings of the Koran and through that process now feels that he has explained right and wrong to the teacher. The teacher could go on to explain that most Americans do not follow the teachings of the koran or base their morality on it, but, personally, I would not do that in a classroom with several Saudis in it although I would be inclined to do so gently one on one outside of the classroom,

Regardless, few of the Saudi I've met seemed to be satisfied by an explanation of same sex marriage based cultural relativism.

Therefore, I now offer the solution to explaining this cultural difference to Saudi students.

First, a marriage, particularly an arranged marriage, is based on much more than sex and love.

It also an economic arrangement and a union designed to ensure that a household can be run in a smooth and workable fashion. Begin there.

Now picture a Saudi household. Who do you think does the dishes and mends the clothes? Why the woman, of course.

And who does the driving of the car? Why the man of course (unless, of course, they hire a foreign person as a driver which they often do but that's another issue)

So, if you have two men together as a couple what's one thing a Saudi needs to know?

Why who is going to do the dishes and mend the clothes, of course.

And in a lesbian couple who will drive the car?

Therefore what I have found works for me is that when Saudis ask about same sex marriage the place to start is with the division of household chores and duties. Explain that in an American marriage these are generally negotiated and not assigned by sex. Once a Saudi student can understand how the dishes get washed, how the floors get cleaned, and how the other mundane logistical duties involved in running a family or a household get taken care of, then they are much closer to understanding how a same sex marriage might work.

This is the approach that I have found works for me. Try it for yourself and let me know how it works.

Friday, November 11, 2016

Muslim Fundamentalists, Terrorism, and the ESL Classroom -don't over react but some good things to know

In my last post, I wrote about the few but documented links between terrorism and refugees. As I stated there are approximately 1.6 billion Muslims in the world. Of these approximately 3.3 million live in the USA. Since 2002, until 2016, the USA has resettled an estimated over 250,000 Muslim refugees. (See: http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2016/10/05/u-s-admits-record-number-of-muslim-refugees-in-2016/ and http://www.pewresearch.org/ft_16-10-03_muslimrefugees/ Although the US Government agency the U.S. Refugee Processing Center ( https://www.wrapsnet.org/HomeContacts/tabid/52/Default.aspx ) does keep much more detailed information, this information is indeed difficult to sort through and make sense of. (According to their website, “The Refugee Processing Center (RPC) is operated by the U.S Department of State (DOS) Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration (PRM).”)

Clearly, not all these people are dangerous. In fact, few are. And although Islamic Jihadi terrorism is frightening, hence the word “terror” in “terrorism,” and thus catches the attention of the public and the media quickly, it is actually quite rare, at least in the USA. But it does happen. But it’s important to remember that it does not involve most mainstream, ordinary Muslims who have no more desire to place a bomb in a public place or shoot up the office Christmas party than you or I do. In fact, reliable sources show a low approval rating for terrorism among Muslims in general. (http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2016/07/22/muslims-and-islam-key-findings-in-the-u-s-and-around-the-world/ )

Yet these things happen. So, here’s the million dollar question, if most Muslims are not likely to be involved with terrorist activity, then what sort of Muslim is likely to be involved with terrorist activity? We hear the term “radicalized” a lot, but what does that mean? “Radicalized” into what?

And why in the world should an ESL (English as a Second Language) teacher care?

Because fundamentalist Muslims reach out to newly arrived refugees seeking converts to their doctrines and school of thought.

Although I can find little documentation of this in the USA, it is documented to happen in Europe and Germany in particular. And in today’s globalized internationalized society, what one faction of a group does on one side of the world is likely to be copied on this side of the world as well.

For instance, we have this Reuters article:

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-europe-migrants-germany-mosques-insig-idUSKCN12S0HE

The key paragraph is:

“Germany's domestic intelligence agency has recorded more than 320 attempts by Salafist Muslims to contact refugees last year, often by offering food, clothes, free copies of the Koran and help with German to asylum seekers living in shelters.”

We also have this article from the National Review, admittedly a conservative, right wing publication but generally quite respected even by many of the critics of its ideology. http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/427738/europe-muslim-refugees-recruited-radical-islam-andrew-c-mccarthy

Additionally, there is this article from the Wall Street Journal which discusses how in Germany, on one hand, occasionally Jihadists and wannabe Jihadists reach out to the local Muslim refugee community. On the other hand, the Muslim refugee community, often quite weary of violence, often turn these people into the authorities. http://www.wsj.com/articles/germany-grapples-with-refugee-tips-in-terror-probes-1478079001

Recently I had a pair of student enter the classroom whose behavior struck me as quite strange. Basically, they were cold, stand-offish, did not appear to be trying to learn English, often did not participate in class activities with the other students, and wished to bring unregistered relatives to the class to sit in. This was not allowed in my program so I could not let them in and did not.

The whole thing was quite strange and disconcerting and a little difficult to explain.

I could not shake the feeling that they were pretending not to know English.

Of course, I reported the problem to my boss who responded in a manner I consider unprofessional and will not detail here. I began to feel a bit like William Shatner in the classic Twilight Zone episode with the monster on the airplane wing ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nightmare_at_20,000_Feet )

It was admittedly bizarre-sounding claim. Why would anyone pretend to not know English and enter a basic ESL class?

The motive is seeking contacts who are at an unstable point in their life in order to seek converts. The link below explains this. Please note it says that most such people are harmless, although they are religious fanatics who might look down and be hostile to people who do not share their views. (People such as ESL teachers.) As stated in the above Reuters article, many such fundamentalist fanatics believe that the entire world of mundane worldly affairs is beneath their notice and not worthy of much attention and instead prefer to focus their lives and attention on spiritual affairs. Some however are indeed potential Jihadists.

Many of these people are devotees of a school or doctrine within Islam known as Wahhabism or Salafism. Although I am not qualified to write of this doctrine and its controversies in detail, many sources, including PBS’ Frontline documentary (PBS not exactly being the world’s most right wing media outlet by the way) credit as the ideological source of much of Jihadi terrorist thought. ( See: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/saudi/analyses/wahhabism.html ) although others question this view. ( see: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/20/opinion/dont-blame-wahhabism-for-terrorism.html?_r=0 )

How can an ESL teacher recognize such Fundamentalists?

First, don’t expect them to identify themselves. It’s a bit like asking a Fundamentalist Christian if he or she is a Fundamentalist Christian. In such a case, you’re likely to get some answer like “Oh no, I just believe in the Bible and Jesus” or “I’m just a Christian who follows Jesus” or “I just believe in the Bible and follow Christ and its teachings.” It’s the same thing here.

According to Maher Hathout, a senior adviser to the Muslim Public Affairs Council and the spokesperson for the Islamic Center of Southern California, as quoted at: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/saudi/analyses/wahhabism.html

“Well, the word "creed" is important because the creed of Islam is the same: the belief in one God, the belief in the oneness of his message, the oneness of the human family. And the devotion to God should be expressed in human rights, good manners, and mercy, peace, justice, and freedom. No two Muslims will argue about this creed. It is documented in the Koran as the highest authority, modeled by the authentic teaching of the prophet, and the authenticity has always been subject of study and debate.

So the creed is crystal clear. But the interpretation or the way you approach life, which should be a dynamic thing, should change from time to time. When you freeze it at a certain period or at a certain interpretation, problems happen. I know that people called it Wahhabism; I don't subscribe to the term. [Muhammed bin Abd al-Wahhab] at his time was considered a progressive person.

If you freeze things at his time -- which was the eighteenth century, or the late part of the seventeenth century, I don't remember the dates exactly -- it becomes very stagnant and very literalist. And a very straitjacketed puritan approach that does not cater to the changeables and the dynamics of life. People call this Wahhabism.

Saudis, by the way, never say, "We are Wahhabis." They say, "We are just Muslims." But they follow the teachings, and the major booklets taught in all schools are the books of Muhammed bin Abd al-Wahhab. Anyone who's subscribing to someone else is not very much welcomed.”

Although Maher Hathout refers to Saudis here, I think the same would apply to most Muslims regardless of nationality.

So, if you can’t ask and get a useful answer, what are some tips on how to recognize Fundamentalist Muslims who might be worth keeping an eye on. (More on this later.)

I don’t have any cut and dried answers, but a couple tips.

First, while most Muslims pray five times a day and do so while bowing towards Mecca, they tend to do this on a loosely defined, flexible schedule. If you have a classroom break, and a Muslim prays, don’t be alarmed. That’s something Muslims do, it makes them happy, and it hurts no one anywhere. It might even help a few people.

However, Salafist Muslims, like the students in my classroom, pray on an exact schedule. (http://www.salafitalk.net/st/viewmessages.cfm?Forum=10&Topic=7538 or https://www.salaficentre.com/2016/06/prayer-schedules-important-rulings-guideline-cautions/ ) By contrast these students will ask for a break at a specific time and then ask you to accommodate them. They may, like these students, set their smart phones so that a call to prayer goes off during your class, disrupting it.

Obviously, this is not desirable in the classroom, but because a religious issue is involved, handle it with discretion.

Two other tips. Although not always, a large number of such people will have a connection to the Saudi Arabian Peninsula and the nations there. These nations include Yemen, Oman, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates as well as parts of southern Iraq and Jordan. Note that few of these countries, with the possible exception of Iraq, are likely to produce refugees so such folks will probably not be refugees.

Secondly, it should go without saying that these folks will probably be dressed in conservative Muslim dress. This might include burkas but does not always.

So, what do you do if you see Fundamentalist Muslims in your classroom? Well, first thing is relax. Take a deep breath. Fundamentalist Muslims, and for that matter Jehovah’s Witnesses, Mormons, and even Scientologists, all have a right to learn English. And most members of these groups, yes, all four groups, are not bad people. And, perhaps, getting them out among the general public (and I consider ESL students to be the general public) and away from their little insular communities could help them broaden their horizons and expand their outlook a little. Stranger things have happened.

On the other hand, if there’s something really suspicious, what should you do? Well, based on my experiences one option is to go to your supervisor. On the other hand, it’s worth mentioning that your supervisor probably does not know much about these issues and you may find yourself accused of “Islamophobia,” “racism,” “paranoid thinking,” and worse. Therefore I would recommend that you consider going to the authorities if you have a strong suspicion concerning the behaviors of some Fundamentalist Muslim students. Most large police forces have someone with an interest in homeland security issues, several federal agencies take an interest in such matters, and here in New York State we have our own Homeland Security agency that keeps tabs on these things. Once you tap into that network, they’ll help guide you to the right people if you have a reasonable basis for suspicion and explain yourself well. Before you do, collect your facts, think about why, exactly, what you saw bothered you, and you’ll make the process smoother for all concerned including yourself.

Sunday, November 6, 2016

Refugees and Terrorism -- A Weak Link but it does exist

Today I depart from the usual teaching stuff. I am a teacher of English as a Second Language. I have a great deal of experience with refugees, many of them Muslim. From time to time, friends and acquaintances ask me about the issue of Islam, refugees, and terrorism. I probably get these questions more than most ESL teachers because, I travel in different circles. (In addition to being an EMT, licensed security guard with large event and concert experience, and martial arts and self-defense enthusiast, I am also a Paladin Press author with some wonderful cyber-contacts in these fields.)

It’s kind of an elephant in the living room issue in English as a Second Language teaching with few wishing to talk about it. These days, many, many ESL students are Muslims and if one cannot work with Muslims, you probably should not be working the field. (Should one wonder, I can work with Muslims. In fact, when I applied for my job teaching ESL to refugees, I used a Muslim refugee as a reference.)

Claims of a connection between a terrorist threat from Islamic refugees are much exaggerated, in my assessment. I have tried to keep abreast of the issue and if forced, I could offer less than a handful of examples where there is a very loose, often tangential link between Islamic refugees and terrorism in the USA. Much of the issue hinges on definitions. For instance, see: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/fact-checker/wp/2015/11/19/the-viral-claim-that-not-one-refugee-resettled-since-911-has-been-arrested-on-domestic-terrorism-charges/

A Washington Post article on the issue.

This article from the Brookings Institute offers further valuable insights.:

https://www.brookings.edu/blog/markaz/2015/10/27/do-syrian-refugees-pose-a-terrorism-threat/

However, there were problems.

The system has been overhauled and had some problems as detailed in this LA Times article: http://articles.latimes.com/2011/jul/18/nation/la-na-refugee-terror-20110719

This was in response to the arrest and conviction of two Iraqis, Mohanad Shareef Hammadi and Waad Ramadan Alwan, who are reported to have entered as refugees and were found to have extensive histories of terrorist and insurgent activities.

These can be detailed here:

http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052702303745304576357540061417306

http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/al-qaeda-kentucky-us-dozens-terrorists-country-refugees/story?id=20931131

http://abcnews.go.com/International/terrorists-refugee-program-settle-us/story?id=35252500

https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/former-iraqi-terrorists-living-kentucky-sentenced-terrorist-activities

https://archives.fbi.gov/archives/louisville/press-releases/2011/two-iraqi-nationals-indicted-on-federal-terrorism-charges-in-kentucky

However, when I read the articles I was left a bit confused as to whether or not the pair had entered on refugee or asylum visas, a quibbling, unimportant distinction perhaps but one that crops up again and again when looking at this issue. (For instance, the Tsaernever brothers, the Boston bombers, entered on asylum visas as teenagers, but were at times described as “refugees” in some reports.)

However, there is this case:

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/20/us/obama-st-cloud-minnesota.html?_r=0

https://forefugees.com/2016/09/19/p/

Dahir Adin, a 23 year old who entered the USA on a refugee visa while one year old, did commit a mass stabbing at a mall in Minnesota before being shot by an off duty police officer. In other words, he was a refugee, but a baby at the time with little memory of what it was like to come here.

So what should an ESL teacher do? Well, honestly, nothing at all is usually an appropriate response. Most refugees are ordinary people and most Muslims are ordinary people too. It is important to remember that there are 1.6 billion Muslims in the world. Of these, an estimated 3.3 million live in the USA. If they were inherently violent and dangerous, at the very least, the world would look quite different.

On the other hand, if you do see something quite strange or that raises your suspicions it is probably best to quietly report it to the authorities. That way you won’t have to worry about charges of “islamophobia” from your supervisor. Also the authorities are more qualified to judge the seriousness of what you’ve seen than a typical ESL school administrators. The authorities often come at the state, local, and federal level and ideally interact with each other. Often a local police officer should have some idea of where to go to report a terrorism related concern should you see one.

I hope to write a second post soon on how to recognize fundamentalist Muslims and distinguish them from ordinary, mainstream Muslims.

Saturday, October 29, 2016

Use of Films in the ESL Classroom

Films in the ESL classroom, or any classroom for that matter, can be a good or bad thing.

Sometimes they can be a sign of laziness. Lazy? Yes and that’s bad. If one gets the chance to see the amusing (but ultimately forgettable) film, “Bad Teacher,” Cameron Diaz plays the eponymous “Bad Teacher.” She hates her job and instead is focused on her life’s goal of raising funds for breast implants in order to better enable herself to catch a rich husband and never have to work again. (Yes, in this film Cameron Diaz wants breast implants. It’s not exactly the most thought-out, intelligent, or deepest film ever made. I only saw it once and while I did enjoy it, I have not seen it since.)

Therefore, instead of actually teaching her English literature class, she simply sits in the back of the room, snoozes, and plays movies each day. Each and every day. With no exceptions or any other activities of any kid.

She is, as the title says, a bad teacher. (By the way, I have never used this film in the classroom. I doubt very much if I ever will. )

Don’t be a bad teacher. Don’t show films each and every day in your ESL classroom.

But does this mean you can’t use any films at all in the classroom? No, of course not. There are many ways to show films in the classroom and do so in a way where you remain an active, engaged teacher and your students benefit from the activity.

Over the years, I have used several films in my classrooms. The tip to using them successfully, I feel is to choose a film that is useful and relevant to the student’s interests, concerns, and goals. It should go without saying that it is best to choose a film that will not offend and will make students comfortable in the classroom. Then stop and teach from it. In other words, 15 to 20 minutes of film per class with the film spread over several classes is not a bad way to do it.

It is a good idea to prepare ahead of time

Consider handouts or at least make a list of the following that students will gain from the film:

· Vocabulary
· Idioms
· Cultural references and customs

Discuss these. You might wish to have supplemental materials prepared ahead of time.

Of course, it helps to know your students. In my last class, we started watching the film, “Pieces of April.” This small independent film involves a dysfunctional family that tries to get together for one last Thanksgiving together because mom is dying from cancer. April, the problem daughter, has invited everyone to her place for Thanksgiving dinner. There are only two problems, the first is April really does not know how to cook. The second is that when she does sit down and get ready to roast her turkey, she discovers that her stove is broken and the finds herself running up and down the stairs of her run-down apartment building desperately asking people if she can borrow an oven on Thanksgiving morning.

In the film people speak relatively standard American English but the idiom “nip it in the bud” as in “I am nipping this in the bud right now” needed to be taught.

As the film is from 2004 the reference to “collect calls” and “calling collect” needed to be explained.

Curiously the phrase, “Eddy the drug dealer is history” which is used when the father is trying to give reasons as to why they should be optimistic about April’s life and their upcoming visit, was quite confusing to the students.

When it was all over, they had many questions, but a surprising number of them were about how to properly cook a thanksgiving turkey with stuffing. Next week I hope to bring some youtube videos on how best to prepare a Thanksgiving turkey.

A few other films, I have used in the ESL classroom include:

Bright Lights, Big City

Hair Spray

My Name is Earl –Sold a Lemon Car (Season 4, Episode 9)

https://vimeo.com/123247681

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vMkq9oSqebg&list=ELFaOGP6o-zKg

Sunday, October 23, 2016

Halloween and Pre-Christian Influence on English and English speaking cultures. ESL lesson

Pagan or Pre-Christian influence on English and the English-speaking or "Western" society are subjects little covered in ESL curriculum. As Halloween, a holiday with pre-Christian origins, is coming and the students as me to talk about it I decided that this would make a good subject for my advanced ESL class at William K. Sanford Town Library.

I focused on several different topics and loosely linked them together.

The first was a rough map of Europe circa 800AD (ish) on which I had marked the lands of the Celts or Celtic peoples as well as the Vikings / Norse and a big circle labelled German tribes.

I pointed at the circular area labelled "Celtics" and asked if anyone knew the name of the Boston professional basketball team. (the "Celtics") and waited for answers. Some guessed "Red Sox" and there were other guesses but soon I just went to google and typed "boston professional basketball" on the board.

Then I decided to talk and teach a bit about the history of the English language. I used three youtube videos for this.

Old English poem of the Battle of Brunanburgh

This is interesting, but, of course, there's no need to play the whole thing.

How Far Back in Time Could You Go and Understand English?

Quite good, but I take exception to the portion where they refer to the King James Version of the Bible as "the Bible" (It is one of many versions of the Bible, not "THE" version of the Bible.)

Old English Greetings

This one is a bit amateurish, I thought (not how he often seems to be reading from cue cards) but it is kind of fun. Also there is the portion where he teaches the phrase "Gode Niht" or "Good night" and pronounces "niht" sort of as "ni ccckk t" with a sound like the German or Scottish "ch" in "ach!" --this is a good place to address those pesky, oddball "gh" letters that keep cropping up in English spelling.

i.e. night, knight, through, rough, though, etc.

In all of these words, the "gh" was originally a "ch"as in the Scottish or German pronunciation of the "ch" and, by the way, it is my undertanding that all of the "ough" s at one time ha d a uniform pronunication a bit like "ooooooccckkk" but with the German / Scottish "ch" on the end.

Also worth noting, and again these were very advanced students, I would not do this with lower level students, is the way in which some English words show plurality with a vowel shift instead of an attached "s." i.e. man/ men, woman/ women, tooth / teeth, foot / feet, mouse/ mice, etc. I just found it interesting that the roots of this practice lie back in the British languages.

I also, just in passing, mentioned Gaelic and Welsh.

I showed clips from Ashley MacIsaac and Mary Jane Lamond's 1990s version of "Sleepy Maggie." I noted that it is in Gaelic and not English and said, truthfully, that it was once one of my favorite songs.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aoApELfgWcg

The students were a little confused by the role of Gaelic but a segment or two from this delightful short film, Yu Ming is Ainm Dom, put it in perspective for them.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JqYtG9BNhfM

There's a wonderful part where a Chinese man who has learned Irish Gaelic actually tries to use it in a bar in Ireland. It's about 8:00 minutes into the film.

Next we got to the part on some pre-Christian / Pagan influences on our society.

These were, first, the "strange" practice of "knocking on wood" for luck.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dc4khyR6yBk

I explained that although this custom had origins in a belief in tree spirits and tree gods. I also mentioned that most Americans do not know this and I had only learned it when I was about 27 years old from a friend.

I then went to the names of the days of the weeks.

While Sunday and Monday are named after the Sun and the Moon respectively, the other five days of the week are named after pagan / pre-Christian god.

Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday are named after the Norse / Viking gods Tyr, Wodin, Thor, and Freya respectively. I used Google images to explain and show pictures of who they all were and, of course, mentioned the Marvel Comics film. I also mentioned that now they knew why there was a "d" in the middle of the word for "Wednesday."

Of course, i had to share this too.

I also mentioned that the names of the planets came from Roman Gods.

And then, and only then, did I actually get into Halloween which I explained with this video. I did stop the video from time to time to clarify or explain a point.

http://www.history.com/topics/halloween/history-of-halloween/videos/haunted-history-of-halloween

I then mentioned the Easter bunny and Easter eggs (pre-Christian influences) and Santa's elves, another sort of pre-Christian borrowing.

To finish the class and give the students a chance to talk to each other and not just listen to me, I asked them to offer their solutions to the following advice column questions, each of which had a Halloween theme.

http://www.slate.com/articles/life/dear_prudence/2014/10/dear_prudence_on_halloween_poor_kids_come_to_trick_or_treat_in_my_neighborhood.html

http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/life_and_entertainment/2015/10/11/1-cowgirl-right-to-speak-up-about-halloween-costume.html

http://www.uexpress.com/dearabby/2014/10/19/cheap-candy-might-work-magic-on

http://www.uexpress.com/dearabby/2014/10/20/halloween-cowgirl-can-leave-her-pistol

This one I did not actually use in class as it contained sexual content but I did find it funny.

http://www.uexpress.com/dearabby/2014/12/10/wifes-birthday-gag-gift-turns-out

Friday, October 7, 2016

Dear Abby -- The English (or busy and over-worked) English teacher's friend.

Advice columns such as Ann Landers or Dear Abby.

Show them to students, cover the answers, and ask them what they would do.

Very useful but you must read them in advance or you may find (to your surprise and shock) that they contain sexual situations or other situations that you do not wish to discuss in class.

http://chicago.suntimes.com/lifestyles/dear-abby-after-7-years-should-we-wed-or-wait/

Thursday, October 6, 2016

English as a Second Language Lesson plan --Giving Advice

Tomorrow is my advanced class at the William K Sanford library.

The subject will be on giving advice. I may try to tie the lesson in with the recent election debates. (Although if I do that then I guess I will have to actually watch at least part of the debates, something so far I have done successfully.) I suspect I shall suggest the students give advice to the candidates on how to act better in the debates.

Sample lesson plan
goal		Student will be better prepared to give advice using modals.
Objective		Students will be able to make sentences with the following modals used in both a positive and negative way. 1. Could / couldn’t 2. Should / shouldn’t 3. Must /mustn’t
Ice- breaker Review		Introduce self to students Tell the students I am here for a job interview. What should I do? (NOTE THAT THIS IS INCORPORATED INTO THE LECTURE)
Lecture / explanation		SEE NOTES
Exercise / practice		Pass out worksheet
Assessment		Look at worksheet
Possible Homework		???

Materials not covered that could be used for follow up, review and expansion:

1. Unreal conditionals (two great songs for this are “If I were a rich man” and “If I had a million dollars.”)

2. Dear Abby

The lecture notes

Lecture –Giving Advice

1. Introduce the subject of giving advice

Explain my problem –job interview

INTERACTION: Explain I will need advice, but that comes later.

2. Ask them for examples of problems.

INTERACTION: Write them on the board.

3. Introduce the constructions “should,” “shouldn’t” and “should not.”

INTERACTION: –PRONUNCIATION PRACTICE

Explain how to use them in a phrase or sentence.

Give some examples.

“if you are hungry, you ______________ eat.”

“if you are thirsty, you ______________ drink.”

“If you are tired, you ____________ sleep.”

AND THE

“If you are tired, you ______________ drive.”

“If you are angry, you ______________ speak.”

“if you are sad, you _____________ watch sad movies.”

LOOK AT THE EXAMPLES OF PROBLEMS

INTERACTION: Discuss what people should and shouldn’t do.

IF TIME ALLOWS EXPLAIN “must” and “must not” and “could”

GO BACK TO THE EXAMPLES AND PRACTICE

Here's a useful link on how to teach this.: http://busyteacher.org/3903-how-to-teach-giving-advice.html

And here's a useful worksheet you can pass out to your students: http://www.esl-lounge.com/student/grammar/2g18-should-shouldnt-exercise.php

Good luck, if you use this, please give credit where credit is due. (Including to the folks I linked to,) and leave your comments please,

Sunday, January 31, 2016

Myanamr elephants

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/31/world/asia/myanmar-logging-elephants-unemployment.html

ASIA PACIFIC

Unemployed, Myanmar’s Elephants Grow Antsy, and Heavier

By THOMAS FULLERJAN. 30, 2016

WA KALU PU, Myanmar — Dragging giant tree trunks up and down the steep hillsides of sweltering jungles is a tough job. But there is something worse, say owners of Myanmar’s logging elephants: having no job at all.

Shrinking forests and a law enacted three years ago that prohibits the export of raw timber have saddled Myanmar with an elephant unemployment crisis. Hundreds of elephants have been thrown out of work, and many are not handling it well.

“They become angry a lot more easily,” U Chit Sein, 64, whose eight logging elephants now work only a few days a month. “There is no work, so they are getting fat. And all the males want to do is have sex all the time.”

Elephants hold an almost mystical place in Myanmar, home to the world’s largest captive elephant population. For hundreds of years, they helped extract precious teak and hardwoods from jungles that even modern machinery still cannot penetrate.

Now the future of the 5,500 or so wrinkled pachyderms in captivity is a major preoccupation for the government officials who oversee them.

“Unemployment is really hard to handle,” said U Saw Tha Pyae, whose six elephants have been jobless for the past two years. “There is no logging because there are no more trees.”

Myanmar’s leading elephant expert, Daw Khyne U Mar, estimates that there are now 2,500 jobless elephants, many of them here in the jungles of eastern Myanmar, about two and a half hours from the Thai border. That number would put the elephant unemployment rate at around 40 percent, compared with about 4 percent for Myanmar’s people.

“Most of these elephants don’t know what to do,” Ms. Khyne U Mar said. “The owners have a great burden. It’s expensive to keep them.”

Adult elephants, which each weigh about 10,000 pounds, eat 400 pounds of food a day and, other than circuses and logging, have limited job opportunities.

Logging is arduous. But elephant experts say hard work is one reason Myanmar’s elephants have remained relatively healthy. A 2008 study calculated that Myanmar’s logging elephants, which have a strict regimen of work and play, live twice as long as elephants kept in European zoos, a median age of 42 years compared with 19 for zoo animals.

Some logging elephants live much longer. “You see working elephants living into their 50s and 60s quite regularly,” said Joshua Plotnik, an elephant behavior specialist based in Thailand. “It all comes down to nutrition and proper care.”

Elephants have been known to display a sense of purpose in their work, experts say, and the loss of a job can be demoralizing.

“I don’t want to anthropomorphize,” said John Edward Roberts, the director of elephants and conservation activities at an elephant rescue center, the Golden Triangle Asian Elephant Foundation in Thailand. “But if you take away that part of their life that has entertained them or stretched them mentally and physically — it’s difficult.”

A Thay Lay washed his elephant Hsar Hlay, 38, who is without work, after a foraging one night this month in the jungle near Wa Kalu Pu.CreditAdam Dean for The New York Times

For most people in Myanmar, things are looking up. The economy is growing rapidly and citizens are enjoying newfound freedoms after years of brutal dictatorship. But the dawn of democracy here has meant a reversal of fortune for elephants. In decades past, when Myanmar’s population suffered under dictatorship, life was arguably much less harsh for elephants.

The military governments adhered to a strict labor code for elephants drawn up in British colonial times: eight-hour work days and five-day weeks, retirement at 55, mandatory maternity leave, summer vacations and good medical care. There are still elephant maternity camps and retirement communities run by the government. In a country where the most basic social protections were absent during the years of dictatorship, elephant labor laws were largely respected, partly because an overworked elephant is a very dangerous animal, say those who handle them.

Each logging elephant has its own record book, with medical and work history managed by Myanma Timber Enterprise, a government company often referred to by its initials.

“The M.T.E. elephants that I’ve seen are really healthy compared with elephants I’ve seen in other countries,” said Dr. Susan Mikota, the director of veterinary programs and research at Elephant Care International, a charity based in the United States and devoted to elephant welfare. “They are on a natural diet, they are allowed to forage. They have good muscular skeletal body condition. They get good exercise.”

Mahouts rode their elephants back to their camp in the jungle near Wa Kalu Pu.CreditAdam Dean for The New York Times

Georgia Mason, a co-author of the 2008 study, said that obesity seemed to be a major factor in the lower life expectancy of zoo elephants. A subsequent study showed that elephant babies born in zoos were 15 percent heavier than those born in logging camps, she said.

With the number of jobless elephants likely to increase as forests shrink and the logging industry wanes, the government is exploring the possibility of releasing some of the elephants into the wild.

Simon Hedges, the elephant coordinator at the Wildlife Conservation Society, an animal protection organization based in the United States, said this was an “exciting opportunity.” But he and others cautioned that concerns needed to be addressed about captive elephants spreading diseases to wild populations and raiding villages for food.

“Some of the more radical organizations believe that you can let all of the captive elephants go in the wild — that’s easier said than done,” said Mr. Hedges, who last year in Myanmar took part in a meeting, hosted by the Burmese government, on the future of elephants. “Elephants are big, dangerous, scary animals. It’s hard to keep them away from crops.”

Elephant owners regularly release their animals into the jungles to forage and are often forced to indemnify villagers when crops are devoured.

“There is not much space left in the jungles for them,” said Mr. Chit Sein, the elephant owner.

Forest cover in Myanmar has decreased by 42 percent since 1990, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.

As they await a solution, elephant owners are coping with joblessness in various ways.

Some have sold their charges to businessmen in Thailand, where they will be deployed in the Thai tourism industry, including in elephant shows and jungle treks. Exporting elephants to Thailand is technically illegal without official permission but elephant owners say it appears to be happening with greater frequency.

But other owners say they cannot bear the thought of selling their elephants.

“I don’t know what I will do with my elephants,” said Mr. Saw Tha Pyae, who like many elephant owners inherited the beasts from his parents. “But I will never sell them, never! I love them so much!”